Growing up I was that uncoordinated, scrawny, yet somehow slightly sporty kid that every parent was afraid might break in half on the court or field. In one minute I would be shockingly athletic and the next I would trip over the half court line (I swear it had to be raised).

Not to brag too much, but I had pretty fast legs. The issue was my head was always a couple feet faster, leading to some disastrous base running and accidental head dives.

Everyone was always waiting for me to “grow into my body”. I got used to comments like, “eat a burger” and “put some meat on those bones.”

Even through college, I was encouraged to eat whatever, whenever. And I never minded the challenge.

I remember learning about nutrition for a week in health class in 6th grade. But, if I’m honest, I didn’t take it seriously…probably because it came from the health teacher who taught us the ill benefits of smoking with her raspy voice while reeking of nicotine. And also, I didn’t see my sacred Krispy Kreme donuts on the food pyramid so I tuned out with the same conviction my little Christian self tuned out of the evolution lesson in science.

But now I’m 25, and I have to cook.

It was one of my biggest hesitations in getting married. When Brandon got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife, I thought, “Yeah, buddy. But you’re doing the cooking or we are eating out a lot.”

But somehow, Brandon’s eating habits were so bad (a fact he is oddly proud of), he grossed me out of some of my bad eating habits and now I sometimes think about what I eat. And surprisingly, I’m learning to really love cooking.

I’m trying to learn how to be healthier in (some of) my food choices and cooking ingredients. But, if I’m honest, there is a lot of noise and a lot of health-talk out there.

I have a ton of friends that seem to have this whole “being healthy” thing down.

There are my gluten-free friends, my Paleo friends, my Whole-30 friends. I’ve looked into all of them for about 10 seconds. I honestly wish I had that discipline and drive to rework my entire way of life, but at this point it’s not for me. It’s simply too overwhelming considering my low food knowledge IQ.

I do try to catch on to the things I can. Take coconut oil for example. I’m learning it’s the new duct tape. Cook with it, use it as lotion, chapstick…before you know it I’ll be using it as laundry detergent.

I simply want to be healthier by making more educated choices in my day-to-day eating habits.

And down the road, I hope to have a much healthier lifestyle, not only for myself, but my family. Not necessarily make a dramatic shift all at once.

So here’s the point: How do I do that? Where do I start?

That’s what I’m asking you.

And I’m not interested in beginning any diet or program or joining a Facebook group. Not that I never will be, but not right now.

What are some practical changes to make when it comes to food consumption/cooking? Is there a book that you recommend that helps simplify nutritional information and offers practical advice?

Help me people. Just don’t overwhelm me.

Or I’ll stress-eat a donut.

Challenge: If any health experts want to give a practical, easy to follow guideline to a healthier lifestyle in a blog format, I’ll choose the best and feature it as an upcoming blog AND link to your page, website, ect. if you have one (although I’m not interested in the blog itself detailing your program or sales pitch).

Some ideas:
“10 Easy Ways to Cook Healthier”
“10 Substitutions to Make in your Diet”
“How to Make Educated Food Choices”
“Things You Should Pay Attention to in the Nutrition Label”
“What are Probiotics and why do they Matter?”
Ect.